ASPEN INSTITUTE NAMES ENDICOTT COLLEGE TO NATIONAL NETWORK TO DISRUPT POVERTY FOR CHILDREN AND PARENTS

Beverly, MA , May 2, 2014 – Endicott College was announced today as a member of the Aspen Institute Ascend Network, a new network of leading organizations using two-generation approaches to disrupt poverty and create economic mobility for families. Endicott will receive a $50,000 grant for a pilot project with the Minneapolis-based Jeremiah Program and students at Endicott College Boston. Using lessons from Endicott’s Keys to Degrees program and the successful anti-poverty work of Jeremiah Program, the hope is to build a sustainable network in Boston that will help single parents navigate the challenges of college life and their young children become kindergarten ready. Endicott College is one of the initial 50+ organizations, selected from more than 24 states that represent the leading edge of a national movement around two-generation approaches. Two-generation approaches look at the whole family’s needs and provide opportunities for children and their parents together.  

“These leaders are fueling change for America’s families,” said Walter Isaacson, president and CEO of the Aspen Institute. “As we reflect on the 50th anniversary of the ‘War on Poverty,’ the Aspen Institute is proud to invest in transformational ideas to break the cycle of intergenerational poverty.”  

The Aspen Institute identified Endicott and its partnership with Jeremiah Program through a highly selective national competition. More than 250 organizations applied to join the Network and receive funding from the Aspen Institute Ascend Fund. The selected organizations ranged from community colleges seeking to better serve student parents and their children, to early childhood centers engaging parents in pathways to employment, to two-generation partnerships spearheaded by Promise Neighborhoods, United Ways, and women’s foundations.  

“When Endicott opened the academic center in Boston, our goal was to help break down the barriers to college that can have such a disadvantageous effect on those seeking education,” said President Richard E. Wylie. “We have learned from our Keys to Degrees program that single-parent students bring a remarkably rich perspective to the classroom and our campus, and we wanted to offer that same level of support for them in our Boston programs. Helping this group in Boston succeed means a better program for all of our students, and with the help of this grant and a partnership with the Jeremiah Program, I see great things in the future of both this College and our students.” 

In the United States today, nearly 45 percent of all children live in low-income families.  Almost 25 percent of today’s college students are parents. Yet our education and human services systems have not kept up with the needs of 21st century families. Together, Endicott and the Ascend Network are redesigning programs and policies to create a legacy of opportunity that passes from one generation to the next.  

See the complete list of Ascend Network members at http://ascend.aspeninstitute.org/network. Visit www.endicott.edu and follow @EndicottCollege and @aspenascend for more information. 

Ascend at the Aspen Institute is the national hub for breakthrough ideas and collaborations that move vulnerable children and their parents toward educational success and economic security. We take a two-generation approach to our work - focusing on children and their parents together. We bring a gender and a racial equity lens to our analysis. For more information, visit ascend.aspeninstitute.org 

The Aspen Institute is an educational and policy studies organization based in Washington, DC. Its mission is to foster leadership based on enduring values and to provide a nonpartisan venue for dealing with critical issues. The Institute is based in Washington, DC; Aspen, Colorado; and on the Wye River on Maryland's Eastern Shore. It also has offices in New York City and an international network of partners. For more information, visit www.aspeninstitute.org 

About Endicott College Located in Beverly, Massachusetts on 235 acres of oceanfront property, Endicott College offers doctorate, master’s and bachelor degree programs in the professional and liberal arts.  Founded in 1939, Endicott provides an education built upon a combination of theory and practice, which is tested through internships and work experience.  Studying at the Beverly campus, regionally, and internationally are approximately 2,400 undergraduate and more than 2,600 adult and graduate students. For more information, visit www.endicott.edu.